Soldier's Family Set in Motion Chain of Events on Disclosure [Hackworth involved in CBS photos]

NY Times ^ | 5/8/04 | James Dao and Eric Lichtblau

[Miss Marple]

Well! Interesting connection, isn't it? I wonder who ELSE is going to show up in this mess!

[McGavin999]

I remember that the 4th ID was furious with the 82nd for giving Fallujah a free pass after they took over. You may be right, but I tend to think we were going after Fallujah because we knew it was a rats nest. The Blackwater thing just sped things up a bit.

Maybe that's why the GC got involved in this, it's hard to tell.

[DollyCali]

Yes, it would have been smarter to look at END rather than post in middle!!!


Havent' found you & Fled together & chatted for a bit.

I am just trying to catch up on threads & new.. the Rummy one is a monster.. about half way through

[TexKat]

Thoughts?

Gee thanks leadpenny. I was beginning to think I was out here all alone.

[DollyCali]

I am wondering in all of this if it will be an "ashcroft" case or military..Seems like there are civies & military both involved

[firedragon]

That's frankly the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Welcome to the 21st century. Maybe you should just learn to accept the fact that not all women in the military (quite few in fact) are sadistic, peer pressure succumbing bimbos, and that the majority do just as good a job as their male counterparts.

No, I do not belong to NOW. And I absolutely do not believe that women belong in combat arms. (I NEVER EVER want to see that, for the sole reason that I believe it will decrease our fighting capabilities) But I expect that you have some military background to back up your statement and tell me why women are not fit to serve in combat support and combat service support units.

Yes, the integration of women has created some problems. They're the same problems we see happening in regular American society, since the military is pretty much a microchosm of our nation. But aside from the initial ten years while bowing under the pressure of the liberal media, the integration of women has overall been beneficial.

[DollyCali]

Hi Tex.. you and Ragtime have to be about the most knowledgeable (if you know/read all you post) on most of the details.

I scan when I can but time demands are tight

[philman_36]

I've never claimed to be even remotely a "good" typist...
I've never claimed to be the typing police either.
If pointing out that you and another poster have the same typing errors is such a problem for you...
Well, so much for constructive criticism.

[MEG33]

It was not up Hack to expose an ongoing investigation that had been announced publically by CentCom.

I would love to tell you about all the boys that McGavin has helped,befriended in this war,the boxes,letters,almost adopting a unit,the flag they sent her,the military sacrifice her family has made,but she wouldn't want me to.

[Proud Legions]

Yep.

[philman_36]

...NO ONE should have been allowed into Iraq or Afghanistan with a camera of ANY kind!
YEAH! RIGHT! If there were no cameras of any kind allowed into Iraq or Afghanistan then this whole "prisoner torture" thing would've never been known about! Great idea!
You go girl!
do I need an /sarcasm?

[Anti-Bubba182]

"Hack is trying to relive his youth by bring Vietnam into everything he sees..."

Not only that, he is trying to get even with the military and this time he may have succeeded. I don't know if our aims in Iraq or even President Bush's reelection will survive the damage from this as the media and the Democrats will keep pounding and pounding on this.

Already, IMO, the US made the present arrangement is in Fallujah in response to anticipated fallout from this affair. The seige was lifted on the same day the 60 Minutes report was broadcast. Gen Myer asked CBS to delay the broadcast because of events in Iraq at the time. Fallujah was the main event at the time.

If the scandal tied our hands in Fallujah it may cause us problems elsewhere in Iraq. Resistance in Iraq will no doubt stiffen as rage over this spreads. If at the same time our resolve to meet these threats, or take agressive action is weakened by a fear of more Iraqi outrage, we will fail.

President Bush and Commanders in Iraq must deal decisively with the insugents in spite of the Prisoner abuse. They will have to be strong in spite of the situation.

In the meantime the investigation into the prisoner abuse must be as quick an thorough as possible. If we are lucky, the abuse will be found to localized in this prison by a few individuals, not widespread and not the result of policies of higher command. The people involved are already claiming "they were only following orders" in what they did. If that is true or the perception that it is sticks there will be hell to pay.

We have not heard anything from the Military Intelligence or civilian contractors implicated in the Taguba Report which was leaded to Seymour Hersh for his New Yorker article. I would like to hear their side of this.

[TexKat]

It's a very plausible scenario, but I don't know that the Fallujah operation wasn't proceeding along the "fallback" track anyway.

Would we have gone into Fallujah at the time that we did if the contractors were not murdered? Was that battle already planned? Just asking.

[MEG33]

I saw a military contractor article,I'll find it and ping you.

[leadpenny]

Thanks. Would you agree the plans and mission regarding Fujallah appeared to abruptly change last month?

I'm just looking for possible reasons we backed off. Maybe it was tactical or even strategic and the timing of the coming prison scandal was just a coinkydink.

[BykrBayb]

And if we'd kept the women out of the military, none of this would have happened in the first place. Keep the women barefoot and pregnant, and placate them with an occasional reach-around.

/mockery

[leadpenny]

I was beginning to think I was out here all alone.

:-)

[TexKat]

Hello DC. Good to hear from you. What are you doing up this time of morning?

[philman_36]

...you crave attention,hie thee to the nearest biker bar.
Nope,that story is old news,but I somehow seem to have missed it.I...
...your assessment and well,your entire post...
...most people easily understand my replies,it seems not to matter ones whit,what you think of my lack of typing skills.
I'll illustrate...
...McGavin has helped,befriended in this war,the boxes,letters,almost adopting a unit,the flag they sent her,the military sacrifice her family has made,but she wouldn't want me to.
I'm talking the exact same thing! Simply uncanny!

[BykrBayb]

Nope, nope. Nothin' to see here, folks. Move along.

LOL